Newark International Airport (EWR) has been in the news a lot lately for irregular operations. While things have largely improved on the air traffic control and runway construction front, yesterday afternoon was a complete mess for a different reason, with many passengers being trapped on planes for well over five hours.
In this post:
Bad weather shuts down Newark Airport, traps passengers
On the afternoon of Monday, July 14, 2025, Newark dealt with a pretty terrible storm, which impacted operations. Of course bad weather happens, and that’s something we can’t control.
However, what’s noteworthy about this weather event is for just how long passengers were trapped, as flagged by JonNYC. The ramp shut down for an extended period of time due to weather, as planes were able to continue landing, but weren’t able to depart.
This obviously caused some issues, as planes landed without there being any vacant gates. With United being the biggest carrier at Newark, of course it was most impacted by this. So, for how long did aircraft get stuck? Let’s look at some examples…
Flight UA1205 from Chicago (ORD) touched down at 4:36PM, and finally got a gate at 10:04PM, meaning passengers were stranded on the plane for 5hr28min. YOWZERS!
Flight UA3412 from Louisville (SDF) touched down at 4:44PM, and finally got a gate at 10:10PM, meaning passengers were stranded on the plane for 5hr26min.
Flight UA145 from Porto (OPO) touched down at 3:43PM, and finally got a gate at 8:36PM, meaning passengers were stranded on the plane for 4hr53min.
Flight UA78 from Tokyo Narita (NRT) touched down at 4:56PM, and finally got a gate at 8:44PM, meaning passengers were stranded on the plane for 3hr48min.
Those are just a smattering of examples, but this is more or less what we saw across the board for afternoon arrivals. Expect lots of continued operational disruptions, since there were a ton of delays and cancellations, and a lot of crews will also probably not be able to work trips today, due to the number of duty hours they had yesterday.
This was no doubt an unpleasant experience for all. Well, maybe some crews didn’t mind it, since they were getting paid, as the door was closed. For wide body captains, there are worse gigs than getting paid $350 per hour just to sit there and wait out a delay. I suspect this was easier on pilots than on flight attendants, as the latter actually have to deal with customer frustration more directly.
Were airlines violating the tarmac delay rule?
We don’t have that many consumer protections for airline passengers in the United States, but one policy we do have is the tarmac delay rule. With this, airlines are required to allow passengers to deplane the aircraft during extended delays on the tarmac.
For flights at US airports, airlines are required to provide passengers with an opportunity to safely deplane within three hours of landing on domestic flights, and within hours of landing on international flights.
Airlines can face massive fines if they violate this rule, so were the rules actually broken here, given that some flights were stuck on the tarmac for more than three to four hours? Well, this is where the rules get a little murky. The Department of Transportation (DOT) stipulates that “exceptions to the time limits are allowed only for safety, security, or air traffic control-related reasons.”
That’s actually not defined that clearly in the regulations. Though given that the ramp was largely closed for the safety of airport ground staff, I suspect that this would fall in the “safety” category, and therefore airlines would have an out.
Then again, what would cause a delayed gate arrival of over three or four hours if it weren’t weather or air traffic control? It’s not like airlines keep passengers on planes just for giggles.
It’s hard to say exactly how this should have otherwise been handled. Should flights have diverted to other airports where passengers could maybe deplane, and then the crew would time out and passengers would be stranded? It seems like airlines did their best, but their hands are tied when the ramp closes, and ground staff aren’t allowed to work.
Bottom line
Newark Airport had an absolutely awful Monday afternoon, as bad weather greatly impacted operations. While flights continued to be able to land, departures weren’t possible, leading to a lack of available gates.
Some aircraft ended up being stuck on the ground for over five hours, before actually reaching a gate. While the tarmac rule in theory exists to avoid situations like this, I suspect this would qualify for the time limit exception, due to safety.
What do you make of this Newark mess?
Same thing happened at BWI yesterday; I boarded UA2384 to IAH around 2:30pm, we pushed back around 3:30pm (~40 minutes late) and parked on a taxiway until 6:15pm when we went to a gate. I counted around a half dozen other aircraft (primarily Southwest) that were behind us on the taxiway; we finally reboarded at 7:30pm with a promise to take off at 8pm, however lightning returned and the ramp once again closed so we...
Same thing happened at BWI yesterday; I boarded UA2384 to IAH around 2:30pm, we pushed back around 3:30pm (~40 minutes late) and parked on a taxiway until 6:15pm when we went to a gate. I counted around a half dozen other aircraft (primarily Southwest) that were behind us on the taxiway; we finally reboarded at 7:30pm with a promise to take off at 8pm, however lightning returned and the ramp once again closed so we pushed back around 8:30pm. Then in IAH there were dozens of other delayed aircraft and when I finally got to AUS around 1am I saw three UA aircraft getting ready to be effectively ferried to airports (no pax in sight, just crew + aircraft needing to reposition). UA had a much larger impact from the weather than other airlines as best I could tell.
Same issue at Dulles Saturday night. I have a friend who sat on a plane for three hours because the ramp was closed.
Did JFK/LGA have similar issues? I haven't heard any similar stories. If not, then why did EWR have so many more problems? Weather in Queens was also quite bad last night.
No tarmac delay violations ever. They can lock you up in the plane forever until the sky is clear and water receded.
This is the cabin crew play book.
Invoke the "safety" excuse to bypass any law.
The untold cabin crew perks.
Dictator for the day. An opportunity to run an authoritarian regime on an airliner with no repercussions.
On the plus side that's hours that you don't have to spend at EWR
If the ramp shuts down how would one propose airplanes getting to a gate to deboard? During thunderstorms/lightening and the airport lights are flashing red there's no movement on the tarmac.
We understand that George, the issue is the backlog of aircraft waiting for a gate once the storm has passed. Lots of those pax could be de-planed onto a bus in other countries much, much sooner.
My wife was on the tarmac for over 7 hours without taking off. Hundreds of people sleeping in the airport due to all the hotels being fully booked around the airport.
Y'all can suck it! Delta Rules!
"... and within hours of landing on international flights."
How many hours?
The tarmac rule is four hours for international flights and three hours for domestic flights. It applies to US and foreign carriers.
It is also worth noting that Boston and other airports have been routinely restricting diversions to only what is planned multiple hours in advance
Well, BOS accepted quite a few diversions last night, mostly from JFK. I wonder how far in advance they knew about that.
"For flights at US airports, airlines are required to provide passengers with an opportunity to safely deplane within three hours of landing on domestic flights, and within hours of landing on international flights."
Did you mean to quantify the hours for international flights as well?
It seems that the systems evolved in the USA to keep an aircraft at the gate from arrival, unloading, all the way to departure. This is a luxury that can not be maintained when gate space is limited. I have taken flights where the aircraft was not used for 10 hours and the aircraft was moved from the gate.
This might have alleviated some of the longest tarmac delays. I do appreciate the cost of having qualified personnel to move or tow an empty aircraft around.
"I have taken flights where the aircraft was not used for 10 hours and the aircraft was moved from the gate. This might have alleviated some of the longest tarmac delays."
Prime examples of this are Johannesburg and Cape Town. Overnight flights from Europe (VS, LH, LX. AF, BA, etc.) land in the a.m. and then sit all day, then depart back up north in the p.m. Before they sit all day, they are towed...
"I have taken flights where the aircraft was not used for 10 hours and the aircraft was moved from the gate. This might have alleviated some of the longest tarmac delays."
Prime examples of this are Johannesburg and Cape Town. Overnight flights from Europe (VS, LH, LX. AF, BA, etc.) land in the a.m. and then sit all day, then depart back up north in the p.m. Before they sit all day, they are towed to remote holding areas until they're ready for loading and departure in the evening. They've been doing this for decades.
EWR has ramp areas where unneeded planes park as does JFK.
what happens in S. Africa is also common in deep S. America since flights from the US typically arrive in the morning and also depart in the evening.
the problem is not a lack of ramp space but that US airports have been built for 100% jetway boarding and deplaning.
It is simply not economically feasible to built an emergency ramp unloading process...
EWR has ramp areas where unneeded planes park as does JFK.
what happens in S. Africa is also common in deep S. America since flights from the US typically arrive in the morning and also depart in the evening.
the problem is not a lack of ramp space but that US airports have been built for 100% jetway boarding and deplaning.
It is simply not economically feasible to built an emergency ramp unloading process and system for the rare times when ramp boarding/deplaning only is used for severe tarmac delays.
The government expects airlines to pre-emptively cancel or move planes off of gates - but that isn't possible if the ramp is closed due to thunderstorms.
UA is trying desperately to get the FAA and DOT to lift the capacity cuts that were put in place due to runway construction. Further weather delays make it far less likely the caps will be lifted.
Yet, Tim, believe it or not I had an issue weeks ago arriving on Delta at JFK. We landed somewhat delayed after a domestic flight. Weather was perfect. The gate expecting us was occupied by a 767 still boarding. We had to wait onboard for about one hour. By the way, we were on a narrow body so we did not need a specific type of gate.
Has Delta never heard of a gate change? Does someone at Delta Operations simply not care about their passengers?
Neither I or anyone else can explain why any airline does what it does at any airport but since I have had gate changes on DL at JFK, clearly they do.
and DL does have gates at JFK which can only handle RJs and/or small mainline narrowbodies so ANY gate won't work.
and that principle is true at most legacy carrier hubs including UA at EWR.
and, not to diminish your experience, you...
Neither I or anyone else can explain why any airline does what it does at any airport but since I have had gate changes on DL at JFK, clearly they do.
and DL does have gates at JFK which can only handle RJs and/or small mainline narrowbodies so ANY gate won't work.
and that principle is true at most legacy carrier hubs including UA at EWR.
and, not to diminish your experience, you realize we are talking about 4-6 hour delays at EWR which is a tarmac rule violation for any airplane or airline?
Weather shouldn't t be an excuse because the forecast was crystal clear in advance
Gee, almost like we should have invested in other regional transportation options than just automobiles and airplanes. You know what still works during heavy storms and high winds? Trains.
Not in the UK. 2 inches of water or the "wrong type of leaves" on the track? Network shutdown!
More a case of a lot of the UK's legacy rail lines often being down in cuts with inadequate drainage. In other countries it takes far more to cause a weather delay to the rail system. The other UK issue is cost-cutting under prior governments. Every "efficiency" increase to add to the bottom line is typically a decrease in resiliency of the system.
The thunderstorms this past week on the East Coast have been extremely brutal, and definetly not what we're used to seeing.
I live in Orlando, and this past week, I have seen daily thunderstorms with a strength that you'd see about once or twice a year in the summer a decade ago (and that too on the coast, not inland in Orlando). It has been raining daily for a few weeks now (which is typical...
The thunderstorms this past week on the East Coast have been extremely brutal, and definetly not what we're used to seeing.
I live in Orlando, and this past week, I have seen daily thunderstorms with a strength that you'd see about once or twice a year in the summer a decade ago (and that too on the coast, not inland in Orlando). It has been raining daily for a few weeks now (which is typical in FL during the summer). But the storms have been much worse this time, with a lot more lightning, rainfall, and stronger wind gusts.
my brother flew into newark yesterday and even though he got a gate they weren’t able to unload the bags for 5 hours, also a bunch of the roads outside the airport (turnpike/1-9) were completely flooded so not a great scene
I was on DL2895 from Newark to Minneapolis yesterday. We left the gate at 2:29pm, taxied to a line for takeoff and were promptly grounded. We sat on the tarmac for 2 hours and 45 minutes before they told us we were approaching the 3 hour rule and needed to deplane, so they taxied us back toward the gate. Once we got there, we were told ground crews couldn’t deploy the jetway because of lighting....
I was on DL2895 from Newark to Minneapolis yesterday. We left the gate at 2:29pm, taxied to a line for takeoff and were promptly grounded. We sat on the tarmac for 2 hours and 45 minutes before they told us we were approaching the 3 hour rule and needed to deplane, so they taxied us back toward the gate. Once we got there, we were told ground crews couldn’t deploy the jetway because of lighting. We continued to sit on the tarmac several hundred yards from the gate until 6:30pm when we finally were able to deplane. Once off, they were actually able to send us to MSP at 9:30pm at the insistence of the crew who were well over time.
The whole experience, while annoying, was generally not god-awful. I felt taken care of, we were offered food and water, crews were jovial, passengers were friendly.
Nothing that happened to us compares to the damage done in Newark by the floods that we all saw this morning.
The fact that the tarmac rule is 3 hours is crazy. Especially since most airlines aren't providing any sort of water or snacks during this time.
actually, they are required to provide those things and international flights certainly have those resources still left on the plane. I doubt that we will hear stories that UA told passengers to remain in their seats w/o service for that length of time.
This has been a brutal summer in the NE and air travel is just part of it all. There are plenty of new stories about flooding in the NE -with NYC getting its 2nd highest amount of rain in an hour.
ATC delays are proposed by the FAA early in the day and then become active just about like clockwork. All of the ATC modernization in the world doesn't mean that airplanes will start...
This has been a brutal summer in the NE and air travel is just part of it all. There are plenty of new stories about flooding in the NE -with NYC getting its 2nd highest amount of rain in an hour.
ATC delays are proposed by the FAA early in the day and then become active just about like clockwork. All of the ATC modernization in the world doesn't mean that airplanes will start flying through thunderstorms.
the two regional carriers with large NYC operations suffered the worst even w/ large operations in other parts of the country. Republic cxld 27% of their system flights yesterday and Endeavor cxld 20%.
AA, UA and WN each had 39% system delays yesterday - driven not just by the NE but storms in Texas, CHI and DEN. DL was slightly better at "only" 30% delays.
12% of EWR flights are already cxld today - most UA coded - while 6% of DCA and LGA flights are already cxld. some are a result of yesterday's mess but some is a result of a recognition that you can't keep scheduling above what the system can handle and high cancellations and delays mean lots of inconvenienced passengers that have to be dealt with.
and keep in mind this is all on top of massive cuts that already were put in place at EWR by the FAA. when you combine repeated cancellations due to weather with reduced capacity at EWR and the shift in traffic from EWR to LGA and JFK, average fares in the NE - for those people that actually fly - are bound to be up this year
Climate Change is real.
so is overbuilding urban areas. Concrete just doesn't absorb water very well.
and when you look at weather statistics in a lot of cities - the wettest or worst weather often includes events decades earlier in addition to recent dates.
and we are learning that the horrible events in central Texas are the result of flooding that has gone on in that region for decades - and yet there are major gaps in flood...
so is overbuilding urban areas. Concrete just doesn't absorb water very well.
and when you look at weather statistics in a lot of cities - the wettest or worst weather often includes events decades earlier in addition to recent dates.
and we are learning that the horrible events in central Texas are the result of flooding that has gone on in that region for decades - and yet there are major gaps in flood warnings but the area continues to see more development.
climate might be changing but development in weather prone areas is at least as big of a reason for more human impact by weather.
@Timm Dunn
It's not "overbuilding in urban areas". It's paving everything over for single-family homes and strip malls in a 500 square mile zone outside of the 20 square miles of dense urban area. Concrete doesn't absorb water well sure, but rain falling on 500 sq miles of concrete and asphalt is a much bigger problem for drainage systems than rain falling on 20 sq miles of the same. Think about it. Over the...
@Timm Dunn
It's not "overbuilding in urban areas". It's paving everything over for single-family homes and strip malls in a 500 square mile zone outside of the 20 square miles of dense urban area. Concrete doesn't absorb water well sure, but rain falling on 500 sq miles of concrete and asphalt is a much bigger problem for drainage systems than rain falling on 20 sq miles of the same. Think about it. Over the past 50 years pretty much all new development was taking farmland outside of existing suburbs and turning it into new suburbs. That's half a century of development paving over fields for roads, driveways, and big box stores, all of which the population has no choice but to use a car to drive to.
With regards to Texas, those kinds of storms are going to happen more often. Record-breaking temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico means more energy to fuel these storms. Remember, climate change is not saying that these severe storms are happening now and didn't used to. Climate change is saying that these storms are happening much more often, which is a measurable and true statement. Once in a decade storms are turning into once a year storms. Once in a half century storms are turning into once every 5 year storms. You might not believe in this, but your insurance company has the data and they definitely do.
High density housing, the wet dream of communists and urban planners, have even more concrete than single family homes.
@derek
Think for a second. Imagine in your mind, two 1 acre lots. One holds a single-family home, one holds a 10 story mid-rise. In reality, rain drains equally well on both lots, but one houses far more people and needs far less asphalt to CONNECT those people to the road system. Sure it has more concrete in its structure, but that concrete isn't ON THE GROUND BLOCKING DRAINAGE. Another example, I grew up...
@derek
Think for a second. Imagine in your mind, two 1 acre lots. One holds a single-family home, one holds a 10 story mid-rise. In reality, rain drains equally well on both lots, but one houses far more people and needs far less asphalt to CONNECT those people to the road system. Sure it has more concrete in its structure, but that concrete isn't ON THE GROUND BLOCKING DRAINAGE. Another example, I grew up on in a '90s build outer suburb of a major US city. The street dead-ends in a cul-de-sac, and has 24 houses on it. It takes 32,034 sqft of asphalt, not including driveways, to connect those 24 houses to the rest of the neighborhood. Not the city road network. Just the rest of the neighborhood.
And to clarify, I'm not saying and never have said that all those outer suburbs should be bulldozed and replaced with highrises. Inner suburb property owners however (the suburbs that are 1-2 miles from the actual downtown) should have the option to replace their single-family homes with rowhouses, 3- or 4-over-1s, small apartment buildings, and so on.
Climate change has been happening for millions of years. During the ice age 20,000 years ago, major Climate change but that's no reason to force Evs before infrastructure is ready.
It is so fascinating that US people who never were even close to communism call every only remote social benefit communist.
Also, derek, maybe you compare the release of CO2 over thousands of years not with what humanity does the past 200 years.
Then why didn't Biden fix it? Why didn't Obama fix it? Biden spent $2b on climate change. What has it accomplished?
Just an excuse for leftists to spend money
@David
Obama spent all his political capital passing ACA, and following that was hamstrung by a Republican congress for the rest of his two terms. Biden spent his addressing inflation and crumbling infrastructure. A lot of Biden's climate spending was coming due in 2025-26, where solar and wind projects funded by his grants and tax breaks are coming online in mostly MAGA areas to provide clean and cheaper electricity. Trump is currently breaking all...
@David
Obama spent all his political capital passing ACA, and following that was hamstrung by a Republican congress for the rest of his two terms. Biden spent his addressing inflation and crumbling infrastructure. A lot of Biden's climate spending was coming due in 2025-26, where solar and wind projects funded by his grants and tax breaks are coming online in mostly MAGA areas to provide clean and cheaper electricity. Trump is currently breaking all that, to the detriment of his own constituents. I seem to remember a lot of MAGAts in congress taking credit for Biden's funding of infrastructure and energy projects in their districts despite voting against it though.
As to why it wasn't "fixed"? Blame the oil companies and their paid-for scientists and congressmen pushing literal fake news and trying to push the blame onto countries like China or India, places that do pollute a lot in aggregate but still pollute less per capita than we do, despite having much larger populations AND all the factories that build our consumer products. Arguably there's also complacency involved as a result of successfully addressing the ozone layer erosion caused by PFAs, and the Y2K bug. Both issues required international coordination, new regulations, and thousands of man-hours to address. But they were addressed successfully because we realized the danger and ACTED on it. As long as 41 votes in the US senate think climate change is a conspiracy or not an issue, it won't be acted on in any long-term way.
The complete refusal of US airports to never, ever use remote (un)boarding never ceases to amaze me.
You can have all the airstairs and buses in the world; doesn’t matter if the ramp is closed because of lightning.
Careful what you wish for - in Europe I am continually annoyed at being bussed when there are available jetways.
In the rain or cold it's horrible having to go outside; in winter one cannot put one's coat in checked bag beecause one does not know whether one will have to go outside or not.
It's particularly frustrating when the aircraft is only 100 metres from the terminal building.
If I was stuck on the runway for almost 5 hours after landing, I'd be sorely tempted to open the emergency exit and deploy the slide.
some airports do have emergency backup remote deplaning equipment but it generally only gets used in a disabled aircraft type of situation.
It all comes down to the frequency with which you think you will use those facilities which require that a part of the terminal be configured for passenger arrivals via buses as well as via jetways.
These airports are operating at max capacity with the gates they have so remote deplaning will...
some airports do have emergency backup remote deplaning equipment but it generally only gets used in a disabled aircraft type of situation.
It all comes down to the frequency with which you think you will use those facilities which require that a part of the terminal be configured for passenger arrivals via buses as well as via jetways.
These airports are operating at max capacity with the gates they have so remote deplaning will only be used in severe tarmac delays.
and when thunderstorms are near the field, ramp operations have to be suspended and that would include remote deplaning.
Sounds like more US airports could use a Dulles Terminal Transfer Shuttle :)
https://i.imgur.com/G6IEQnB.jpg
"Sounds like more US airports could use a Dulles Terminal Transfer Shuttle :)"
YOU BITE YOUR TONUGE!!!!!!!11!!! :) :) :)
One awaits the post from Eskimo, proclaiming that Newark airport is actually in the Cathedral City of Lincoln, also that the disruption was the fault of BA.
Poor demented soul needs educating somewhat …. :-(
LOL speaking of the usual cast of characters, what happened to Arps? All of a sudden I need a fix of my favorite high flying megalaw partner and member of international society...
Que t'est-il arrivé, Arps ? Peut-être es-tu dans un château dans la vallée de la Loire, ou en train de partir vers tes suites au Chèvre d'Or sur la côte d'Azur ensoleillée ?
arps is the meryl streep of omaat
… or a certain “law firm partner” telling us over and over again that Newark is superior and people don’t need LGA and JFK ;)
The only one who really, truly commits to the bit as much as Arps is Tim Dunn. Yet while Tim is prolific, his writing tends to be quite pedantic and dull.
Arps delivers such baroque flourish and theatrical grandeur. He's peak camp, night at the opera and high stakes corporate / family drama all in one. Like if someone mashed up Succession, The Gilden Age, Tosca and Made in Chelsea all in one.
Could Arps be pulling a JD Salinger?
@AeroB13a
Sounds like you just described yourself.
Mason, Eskimo, Plain Jane or whomever you think you are today …. you crack me up Bro’ …. Ha! Ha! Then you have the audacity to call Tim Dunn and I one and the same person. Yes, seriously, you are a “Poor demented soul”, you must have come out of the same melting pot as that Bad_Krap_Arps creature.
Rest assured Mason, Ben knows the truth so be aware that one day he may well out the lot of you …. :-)
This is happening to a lower degree daily regardless of weather. For example, there were 2-4 hour delays to take off on Saturday evening with no weather issues. I was lined up watching on my phone, there was about 2 minutes between takeoffs with the massive line of planes waiting, pilot said due to ATC shortage.
This is well within the airline's and airport's control and the penalties should be paid out to the passengers directly. There are systems to automatically escort planes into the parking position without human intervention that could have been implemented (A-VDGS) and the jetway is operated from the inside. Yes, there may be a delay in getting baggage out and turning the plane around but that would still apply as the plane is standing on the...
This is well within the airline's and airport's control and the penalties should be paid out to the passengers directly. There are systems to automatically escort planes into the parking position without human intervention that could have been implemented (A-VDGS) and the jetway is operated from the inside. Yes, there may be a delay in getting baggage out and turning the plane around but that would still apply as the plane is standing on the taxiway. The airlines could arrange timely delivery of the baggage for those who did not want to wait after deplaning.
If the weather was truly that bad as to not allow ground operations to proceed, then the planes should not have landed there.
UA loves Trump and Duffy and pay all sorts of homage to them. Absolutely zero will be fined.
They should not be fined. They are working in a congested airport during thunderstorms. Paxs know the potential for issues decided to fly, and UA and port authority did their best to keep operations going.
AA168 HND-JFK diverted to PIT, crew timed out and a new crew finally got the plane to JFK at 2:04 AM after being on the ground in PIT for 7 hours.
Never understood the tarmac delays in the US.
Do airports there not have moveable stairs and buses?
We don't typically, no. This is usually a good thing, as one is not forced to cram into a COBUS 3000 with 80 other sweaty people and get ported to a gate that's 15 minutes away on the other side of the field. But I imagine it does limit flexibility to some degree
Even if you do have all that, you are limited to the extent there is lightning and to the extent that when it stops there are suitable remote parking positions to shut down the aircraft and open up.
Have seen some of the smaller airports such as Burbank or Ontario in CA where have boarded flights using stairs and no jet bridge but its been years since have been there!
Long Beach too!